I Did It!

Image source: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3323/3180985771_ebc12c2e45.jpg

So. I finally made it off the couch, into the car, and around town. I left home around 1:30 and didn't come back until 4! I left with the intent to spend my Pier 1 gift cards from the wedding, but promptly left home without them. So I stopped by Goodwill to drop off some of Mr. L's bachelor-pad furnishings (aka yucky dishes and pans), and headed North to search for Hobby Lobby. I pull in and it's gone, so I turn to the Garmin and find another one. Let me just say it's my new favorite store!! The only thing we had in town at home was Michaels, which is nice, but Hobby Lobby is like Michaels on Steroids! I didn't find what I was looking for so I came out empty handed, but I probably spent an hour in there walking around wide-eyed! From there it was a stop at Starbucks near where I may be working some for Mr. H, and back home to start dinner. Not all that big of a deal, but I was THRILLED that I finally got myself out of the house to go someplace other than the grocery store.
Now I just need to find a gym... I can't find one that has Les Mills classes or anything near the equivalent, so that could take some time. And some free 7-day passes :)

Need Opinions

SO here's the Art project. Old Farmhouse windowpane. Check. Vinyl decals of cute birds. Check. Dilemma: how to make the back of it brown. Originally I wanted to paint a brown square on the wall. But I think making this thing brown on its own will be easier. And more transportable. My best two options are 1- Paint the glass brown, or 2- Staple-gun brown fabric on the back of the frame. Which do you think will work better?
I put the brown curtain behind it to show what I'm trying to go for. Thanks for the input!

Dad's Pics

I just saw that Dad compiled a page with all the pictures we've gotten in so far... Here it is!

http://web.me.com/smugjoe/LucasWedding/A_Fairy_Tale_Day.html

Funny

Seriously. This made me giggle. I don't care who you are, that's funny. Thanks to Z for the Monday email :)

Pumped!

I just got off the phone with Holly's Dad, Mr. H, who owns a super successful salon and runs a real estate business here in town. We bought our house from him and have a great relationship, seeing as he's Holly's Papa-Dukes :) Anyway, we chatted before the wedding about him hiring me to do some part-time contract-type work for both his businesses. He needs help with his property management and also at the Spa for some marketing work and a little bit of help with hours. SO I'm pumped because I'm meeting with he and Mrs. H tomorrow morning to talk about the job specifics, pay, etc. and I'll probably get started next week.
The other reason for my pumped-ness is that the other job I'm looking at will probably start next week as well. My boss is the owner/president/however you want to say it of a startup non-profit for military wives. She needs help with fundraising and some other things and I can't wait to get started!
And lastly, I'm excited because I opened up our Kitchen Aid Mixer last night. I'm going to be a baking fiend. Anybody have a good recipe for a multigrain bread? I'm making my friend Autumn's Pizza recipe, which is out of this world, sometime this week. Pics are sure to follow!

Spinach Artichoke Cheesy Tortilini

Ok I promise I won't blog about every meal I make. But this was especially for Z to see the Blue Ridge Pottery Bowls from she and Howard. Aren't they cute!?! You can't see the mountains in the bottom of the big bowl, but you can see them in the small plate.
I served the Tortellini in the large bowl, and we dipped some olive oil in the small plate. It was a recipe out of the Rachael Ray cookbook-- totally yumm-o :) The description says "If you like the Spinach-Artichoke dip from restaurants, you'll LOVE this." It was so true.

AND on another note, it was 87 degrees here today. And it snowed last week. And we froze in the mountains. Crazy Colorado weather!! No wonder I have a cold and am losing my voice...

Pineapple

This is Mrs. L enjoying some pineapple at breakfast on our last morning at Beaver Creek. For those of you who know about "Pineapple," it was fantastic all weekend. :)

P.S.

P.S.

Mr. L would like me to remind you that the previous post was 100% his idea. And I'm ok with giving him credit.

Let it also be known we had some other spectacular feasting. We had Elk and Lobster at Splendido at the Chateau, amazing (and free) breakfasts at the Park Hayatt, all-you-can-eat steaks at the Minturn Country Club. At this place, you pick your own meat and then grill it yourself. Pretty cool-- you stand around and talk to the other guests grilling as well and talk about your adventures of the day. And we also had a tasty dinner of crackled-skin duck and hazlenut crusted trout.
The other thing about the "off" season of fall and spring at these major resorts are the deals you can find on food. We didn't pay full price on anything. Every restaurant ran specials and %'s off meals. We didn't eat a bad thing the whole trip.

LARKBURGER

Source: www.larkburger.com

Ok I have to preface this post. We heard from our ATV guide about this hamburger place that we had to visit, called Larkburger. Apparently there's a local restaurant called Larkspur that's really swanky and their main chef left. He had this amazing hamburger recipe, and he took it with him. Picture this. The most perfect cut of top sirloin ground into a patty cooked medium. Yes, medium. Medium is standard. The burger is topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and, wait for it, truffle oil. Yes, truffle. When you bite into this thing, your eyes roll back into your head and you realize that yes, you have just bitten into the best burger of all time. Better than Five Guys, better than any gourmet-topped-with-everything-under-the-sun concoction out there.
The 1/3 pound burger is paired with none other than parmesean-truffle fries. They are cut very thin with parmesean cheese, truffle oil, and Italian Parsley. Let me also say that it was so good and we sat there staring at each other in food coma silence and we had an epiphany. Let's order another. So we did. We each had a burger and a half. If you are ever in Boulder or Edwards, CO Larkburger is totally worth it.


State of bliss.
Mr. L can barely lift his eyes up long enough for a photo. He's too intensely focused on the juicy goodness.
Cutting the second burger in half to share.
The sad face after we finished round one. So we had more :)

Horseback Riding

We went on a two hour trail ride out of Bearcat Stables in Edwards, CO. It was beautiful and a ton of fun. Built both of our dreams for sure!


Storybook.
If you look close, you will see an 8-point buck. We saw 3 of them and were about 15 feet away each time. In the area we rode, there are no hunters, and the mule deer aren't afraid of fellow 4-legged creatures. So he just watched us pass.
Mrs. L. Mr. L gave me a hard time for my pashmina scarf and diamond earrings. Hey, a girl has to look good, right?
Mr. and Mrs. L- atop Delta and Ty. Mr. L was on Ty, who was a great gentleman. Delta, on the other hand, was a cranky old lady who was the queen bee of the stables. She didn't want to listen- she wanted to follow in line and get back to the stables. She even nipped the rear of the horse in front of us for not moving fast enough!
The south-facing sides get a lot more sun. So you get a lot less vegetation and trees. More desert-like.
Mr. L. Looking like a cowboy. Just give him a Stetson and he'll be ready to rope and ride.
We were told we picked the best weekend to visit Vail Valley. The trees were in peak color for fall- within two weeks, they will be all on the ground. In the Colorado mountains, the leaves go green, yellow, drop. Not the rainbow of splendor you have in the Valley back home. I must admit, this is a different kind of spectacular.
Mr. L was not ready to say goodbye to Ty. I think I heard him say "Ty is coming home with us!"
Back at the stables, saying our final goodbyes.

ATV-ing

All geared up, ready to go!
On the way up the trail.
Gorgeous. That is until it started pouring snow! We got our first lesson (well, Mrs. L did) on just how fast the weather changes in Colorado!

Muddy and wet and snowing. So much fun though!
At the top- just about 11,000 feet. Pretty freezing cold. And the storm had set in, so we couldn't see the Vail Summit Pass. More trivia- it's the inspiration range for the Colorado license plates.
Mr. L looking pretty studly.
Love this picture. All the ATV's lined up at the top of the trail. We couldn't go further because there wasn't enough snow on the ground. The ground is really fragile at the top of a summit, so any tracks will be there for years. They will drive snow mobiles up here when the winter snows set in.
Beautiful.
This was back down at the NOVA guides Lodge.
Mrs. L, happy to be headed back in.

The finish? Fireplace and hot chocolate and warm toes. Perfect.

Checking in to the Park Hayatt

View of the main lobby during the day. LOVED the fireplace. Perfect for the frigid temperatures!
The bar and main dining area.
Flowers the hotel left us to say "Congrats!"
The lobby at night. Glorious, isn't it?
Shot of the slopes. No snow yet, but still gorgeous.
Another resort higher up on the hillside.
The views from our room. See the fire pit and the big couches? I was SO pumped for smores every night at the hotel. But when we checked in, we were informed that the bears were coming down out of the mountains to lick up all the dropped mallows and chocolate. So all of Beaver Creek had a "no smores" rule until further into winter season. Silly bears.

Honeymoon! On the way to Beaver Creek

First glimpse of the Rockies after the Ute Pass through Colorado Springs.



Pretty spectacular, eh? Bet you didn't know that Aspen Trees grow in groves from a single root system. Each tree that grows is from a root that breaks the surface and grows upwards. The largest grove of them is in Aspen, CO. But there sure were a lot in the Vail Valley.

The snow that was everywhere... I had a few tears as I watched the temperature drop and drop and drop and drop some more.

People I miss already... (Part 1)

Don't worry, I didn't have time to hunt for pictures of everybody, so this is the first batch. I love you all and I miss you already!

Photos From the Wedding

I don't have any official shots from my photographer, but these look pretty official! I may have a link or two later for more photos...